The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reduced the proposed fine for Ripple from $2 billion to $102.6 million, according to a legal document dated June 14, 2024, shared by defense attorney James Filan.
#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP @SECGov has responded to @Ripple‘s letter regarding the TerraForm Labs Consent Judgment. pic.twitter.com/VvGSJffwa8
— James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪 (@FilanLaw) June 14, 2024
The latest development comes a day after Ripple filed a notice of additional jurisdiction, arguing that the $2 billion penalty requested by the SEC was unreasonable. The company cited the Terraform Labs case and previous SEC settlements as benchmarks for a reasonable fine. Terraform reached a $4.5 billion settlement with the SEC on Thursday.
Ripple argued that the SEC has agreed to fines ranging from 0.6% to 1.8% of defendants’ revenue in previous cases. The company has proposed to pay $10 million to resolve the dispute.
In its new filing, the SEC said the Ripple comparison is flawed and inapplicable. The SEC also explained that Terraform Labs was fined at a lower rate due to the company’s bankruptcy and agreed to several relief measures, including the burning of all remaining tokens. According to the SEC, Ripple has not agreed to any such terms.
“Ripple was remiss in not mentioning that the defendant was in bankruptcy – indicating financial insolvency or inability to meet its financial obligations – not only suspending operations but also ceasing operations. permanently, burning all crypto assets, agreeing to return a significant amount of money to investors, and removing two board members in charge at the time of the breach.
The SEC considered all of these factors in agreeing to the settlement and repeatedly cited them as relevant evidence for the court to approve the settlement under applicable law. In fact, Ripple does not agree to any of the elements.”
The SEC settled with Ripple for $102.6 million – significantly less than the previously discussed penalty but still considered necessary to deter future misconduct.
The legal battle between the SEC and Ripple has been going on since December 2020, when the SEC alleged that XRP, Ripple’s affiliated token, is an unregistered security.
Although a judge ruled in July 2023 that XRP was not a security in a programmatic sale and the SEC dropped charges against Ripple executives, the lawsuit against Ripple is still ongoing and a trial date has yet to be determined.
Itadori
According to Cryptobriefing
